In last week’s episode, the team solved the case of a voyeuristic Unsub who stalked people living in his building and helped Rossi bid farewell to his favorite after-hours getaway.
In tonight’s episode, “The Return”, the agents head to Morgan’s old stomping ground to investigate a group of teenagers believed to be responsible for a mass murder. Read on to find out what the minds behind Criminal Minds have in-store for us this week.
‘Criminal Minds’ Recap: Reid Saves the Day
Child Soldiers
The team heads to Chicago after a teenager murders three people in a diner before being taken out by an off-duty cop. The agents learn that the killer is a former missing teen, a suspected runaway who disappeared four years earlier. The agents have to figure out what or who turned this kid into a killer.
During the investigation, the agents discover that the first teen and several other missing kids were actually abducted by the Unsub and trained for suicide missions. After some digging, Garcia finds more missing kids the Unsub grabbed, several of whom were killed by the Unsub early into their “training”. But one of the missing kids, Daniel, might still be alive.
The agents get Daniel’s mother to give a statement to the press and Daniel hears her message over the radio. Despite his programming, Daniel seems conflicted after hearing his mother’s voice. When he is confronted by the police in the midst of his suicide mission, Daniel surrenders.
Killer Cop
The agents try questioning Daniel once he is in custody, but he just keeps repeating his name and rank. He also keeps repeating a number that Reid identifies as a police badge number. It turns out that the Unsub kidnapping and “training” these kids is a former cop who was stripped of his badge after coercing suspects into confessing. The Unsub is training his child soldiers to go after Chicago police officers and his main target is the cop who reported the Unsub and his partner back in the day. This same cop, Reyes, is now a detective working the case with the BAU.
With Daniel out of play, the Unsub sends another soldier to the police station looking for Reyes and she has brought along a bomb. Though JJ and Blake try to talk the girl down, Morgan is forced to shoot her to prevent her from setting off the bomb. The agents eventually locate the Unsub and arrest him. At the time of his arrest, the Unsub was holding another child hostage, but this boy had not been with the Unsub long enough for the programming to stick and he is saved from the fate of the others.
Morgan’s Love Life
Morgan wakes up to find his girlfriend — apparently Morgan has a girlfriend, though I can recall no mention of her before now — rushing out on him to go to work. Later that morning, he complains to Garcia about being ditched in the middle of the night, only for Garcia to point out that he does the same thing all the time. Garcia goes on to say that both Morgan and his girlfriend put their jobs first and that is why their relationship works. Aside from providing some great Morgan-Garcia banter, this scene also allows Garcia to give Morgan advice on his love life, something he has done for her many times in the past.
When Morgan returns home after the case, his girlfriend is waiting for him. She says that Garcia texted her when they left Chicago and she prepared something special to welcome him home. Whatever complaints Morgan had about his girlfriend are apparently no longer valid, thanks to his chat with Garcia and the fact that his girlfriend looks like Rochelle Aytes.
We do not learn much about Morgan’s girlfriend in tonight’s episode but we do know that she works at a hospital, is a terrible cook, and has been dating Morgan for a few months. Also, her name is Savannah, which may amuse fans of ABC’s Mistresses.
What do you think of tonight’s episode? Were you shocked to meet Morgan’s surprise girlfriend? Do you think it was smart for the show to introduce her months into their relationship or do you think we should have met her when Morgan did? Do you want to see her again? Hit the comments section and let us know your thoughts.
Criminal Minds airs Wednesdays at 9pm on CBS.
(Image courtesy of CBS)
Contributing Writer, BuddyTV
